Pages

Tuesday, 9 June 2015

The Ballad of Chevy Chase

The Ballad of Chevy
Chase is arguably the most famous poem to come out of Northumberland. It
seems by its very nature to be based on an actual historical incident, yet like
much that is churned and ploughed over by bards across the ages the source of
reference of the work has become lost in myth and legend.

The poem has been reworked many times over the years – in
both oral and written traditions – and survives in two generally accepted
versions today. Many have linked the composition to the Battle of Otterburn of
1388, others to a scrap between the Scots and English resulting from a dispute
over a day’s hunting upon ‘Cheviot Chase’ (‘chase’ being a tract of hunting
land).

The Battle of Otterburn essentially amounted to a teasing
out of Northumbrian forces (under Harry Hotspur) from Newcastle into the hills
around Otterburn by a Scottish army under the Earl of Douglas. The resultant
face-off led to the capture of the former, the death of the latter and a
victory for the Scots. In the skirmish in the Cheviots a Northumbrian Percy led
a large illegal hunting party across lands over which the Earl of Douglas had a
protective eye – and in the fight that followed a disproportionately large
number of men were slain with only 110 surviving.

There doesn’t seem to be a set date for the latter incident,
and it is reckoned that there was already a ‘Ballad of the Battle of Otterburn’
in existence before either version of the Chevy Chase poem surfaced (the first
was probably written around 1430 and the second as much as a couple of
centuries later). So what we have here
with TheBallad of Chevy Chase is undoubtedly an amalgam of at least two,
and probably more, historical events … suitably spiced up with a dash of poetic
licence, too, of course.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Write for the 'Tour'!

If you'd like to write for the North-East History Tour click on the option above. Anyone can do it!

Welcome to the Tour!

Do you like a bit of history? And, of course, you love the North-East of England, right? Then the North-East History Tour is for you! Get ready to astound (or bore) your friends and relatives with any amount of useless information over the coming months and years...
Geographically, we'll be starting at the top, moving down the edge, then round and up!

MY BOOKS!

Please click on 'Buy My Books' above to get your hands on more of my writings. Go on!

Show your appreciation of 'The Tour' via PayPal or credit card...

Alternatively, if you'd like to send a donation via cheque, postal order or cash, please use the following address:
20 California,
Winlaton,
Blaydon-on-Tyne,
NE21 6LY.
Please make cheques payable to 'M.Southwick'.
Thank you for your support!

About Me

Otherwise known as Michael Southwick, I run the 'North-East History Tour' blog (and some other stuff). I love genealogy/history - especially anything to do with the North-East of England, and am always keen to learn more and pass knowledge onto others. I have also had a biography published on England's First Football Captain, namely, Cuthbert Ottaway.